


Stop and Rest a While

by RobinsonsWereHere



Category: Psych
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Sickfic, why are there not more carlowe fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 00:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18377519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsonsWereHere/pseuds/RobinsonsWereHere
Summary: Lassiter catches the flu. He fully intends to ignore this and go to work, but Marlowe has other ideas.





	Stop and Rest a While

**Author's Note:**

> I love Marlowe so much and I've only seen one ep with her. She and Lassie are so softtt

Marlowe Viccellio smiles sleepily at her boyfriend, propping herself on an elbow as she watches him sleep. He shifts a bit but didn’t wake. She reaches to brush his hair out of his face, but frowns when his forehead feels warmer than usual. She lets her eyes run over him with a more critical gaze and realizes Carlton had tugged the sheets tightly around himself in the night, and still he’s shivering. Not only that, but he’d sweated through his t-shirt and the blankets. Clearly, working long hours in the middle of flu season was a recipe for disaster. Making a decision, Marlowe stretches her arms over her head, then tosses aside the blankets and heads to the kitchen. She makes some fruit tea that she has in her cabinet, which Carlton usually refuses to drink, but it’s good tea, and it’ll help him feel better. She pours a mug for him and one for herself, then heads to the bedroom.

“Carlton,” she says softly, kneeling on the bed. “Carlton, wake up.” He groans, pushing his face into a pillow. This is followed by a raspy fit of coughing. Marlowe sets the tea aside and rubs a hand slowly over his back. “Hey, baby. Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”

“I’m not sick,” he grumbles, his voice muffled by the pillow.

“Well, I’m going to get the thermometer.” Marlowe smirks a bit. “Five bucks says your fever’s over a hundred.”

“It’s not above a hundred.”

“So you’re taking me up on the bet?”

He groans again. “If you’re going to the bathroom for the thermometer, grab some ibuprofen.”

“Will do.”

She returns with the thermometer first. “Drinking will change your temperature,” she reminds him. The thermometer reads 102.6 degrees. “You owe me five dollars.”

“I never actually agreed to the bet.”

She holds out a mug of tea and the medicine. “Here.”

“Is this that fruit tea you’re always trying to get me to drink? I don’t want it.”

Marlowe folds her arms across her chest and pouts a bit. Carlton manages to look her in the eye for approximately five seconds before he groans and gulps the tea and the pills. She beams at him. “It’ll help your throat.”

“Yeah, thanks,” he sighs. Then he looks at the clock. “Wait, it’s almost eight fifteen! I need to get ready for work!”

Marlowe laughs. “Oh no, mister hundred and two degree fever. You aren’t going anywhere.”

“I went to work with a hundred and four degree fever once,” he argues.

“And how did that work out for you?”

Her boyfriends shifts against his stack of pillows. “...I may have passed out while pursuing a suspect. It’s possible O’Hara had to carry me down four flights of stairs.” Marlowe laughs aloud. “It’s not funny!” 

She leans down and gives him a peck on the cheek. “Of course it isn’t,” she chuckles. “Now, here’s your phone. Call in sick.”

///////////

Juliet’s brow furrows as she stares at the extra folders the chief has just handed her. “What do you mean, Lassiter called in sick?”

“Apparently he has the flu and will be back tomorrow or the next day.”

She blinks. “But it’s Carlton. He came to work with a hundred and four degree fever and I had to drag his unconscious body through a warehouse.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, O’Hara. Best guess, Miss Viccellio had some say in it. It doesn’t change the fact that you’ve got to do part of his paperwork today.”

Juliet scowls at the stack. “No, it does not.”

/////////////

Lassiter doesn’t want food, because he’s feeling slightly nauseous, but Marlowe does make him drink more of the fruit tea. It’s actually not that bad. She also draws him a warm bath that he soaks in while she remakes the bed with non-sweaty sheets. She’s also decided that she doesn’t need to really get dressed for the day, so he has the pleasure of watching his girlfriend walk around in one of his dress shirts and athletic leggings, her hair tied in a messy bun. Yeah, he’s got a pretty good view from the bathtub. Except, the water is warm and he’s achy and exhausted, so maybe he’ll just… close his eyes for a bit.

He wakes to Marlowe shaking at his shoulder. She’s rolled up the sleeves that are far too long for her, and Carlton is frustrated that he’s as sick as he is because that is a really good look. “Carlton, I’d rather you not drown in the tub,” she says. “Lemme help you out.” She holds out a hand and he takes it, only wobbling a little as he stands. She helps him to the bed and he puts on a fresh t-shirt and boxers before climbing under the sheets. He can already feel the temptation of sleep pulling him down, and he looks up at Marlowe through lidded eyes.

“Thank you for helping me. I love you.”

She kisses his forehead. “That’s what girlfriends are for, silly. I love you too.”

He’s vaguely aware of her curling into his side as he drifts off.

//////////////

 

Marlowe waits until Carlton is fully asleep before she gets up, and even then she only washes a few dishes and makes some more tea before grabbing a book and rejoining him on the bed. She reads, and he sleeps, and then a few hours later he wakes, once again sweaty and shivering. Marlowe frowns and runs a hand over his forehead. “I’m sorry you feel bad, babe,” she murmurs. “Hey, take some more ibuprofen, it’s a fever reducer.”

He swallows the medication and then leans back into the pillows with a groan. “Everything hurts.”

Marlowe winces sympathetically, absentmindedly running her fingers over his chest. Carlton takes her hand and presses her knuckles to his lips. “Normally I love it when you do that,” he says softly, “but right now my skin feels a little bit like a ice prison.”

“Sorry,” she apologizes.

“Marlowe?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you sing for me?”

She smiles. “If you want.” He nods and presses his lips to the back of her hand again. She sits back, chewing on her lip as she wracks her brain for a song. After a moment, she begins to sing softly, twining her fingers through his.

_When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we’ll see… no I won’t be afraid, no I won’t be afraid, just as long as you stand, stand by me. So darlin’, darlin’ stand by me, oh, stand by me. Oh, stand by me… stand by me._

He’s asleep by the time she finishes the first chorus. She smiles down at him, then kisses his cheek and snuggles into his side. “Sleep well, Carlton.”

///////////////

Lassiter wakes only to find that Marlowe has fallen asleep on him. She’s wrapped herself around him in such a way that he could not move if he wanted to. He chuckles softly, but it turns into a rough coughing fit. Marlowe is awake in an instant, and she passes him his mug of tea from the nightstand. He drinks and finds that yeah, the sweet liquid that smells strongly of berries does make his throat feel better. He smiles at his girlfriend, watching her set the mug down and then climb back over him to lay against him. “I’m gonna get you sick,” he warns.

“Oh, no,” she drawls sarcastically. “Then we’ll just have to spend more time like this. What a shame.”

He kisses the top of her head. “You know, sick days might not be so bad after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
